Once again it is December and the year will soon come to an end. I guess the majority of you have the same feeling, time is rushing by and sometimes it’s hard to keep up. For my part it is paired with some anxiety. So much to remember! I just hope I am not forgetting anything.

As reported before, we had a VERY hot summer, square kilometers of forest burning up, many lazy hours on the porch…because it was too hot to do anything else. To keep hydrated was already a challenge. The only advantage from this extreme drought was, that it was almost a mosquito free summer and that it also quite unusual for Sweden.

Of course the autumn turned out to be as expected, lots and lots of rain which turned the pastures into muddy puddles.

Barley in pasture_20141130

After his latest injury in the pasture, where I seriously considered to , we had two more incidents, the last one really did scare me.

The first one was in the middle of August and somehow he managed to give himself an injury on his heel. Below a picture after three weeks.

Barley wound_20140903

Fortunately it healed quickly and Barley showed us when it was time to get the bandage off…

Sick pasture_20140822

My friend found Barley in the pasture, trying to chew off the bandage. Can’t blame the poor fella, it was 40°C outside, I can be happy that he accepted the bandage for a week in that heat. She helped him to get the rest off and then we just had to make sure to keep it clean and dry.

BETTER_20140822

The second incident was in middle of October and is just one more evidence of our guardian angel working overtime!

The washroom incident_20141013

Long story short, he was in the washroom, the stainless steel sink (which was broken for weeks but not yet replaced) collapsed while he was almost asleep. Somebody had put a wheelbarrow behind him in preparation of cleaning the drain. When the sink crashed he got scared and backed up, bumping with his hindquarters into the wheelbarrow. That’s when he really panicked. Don’t ask me how he did it, although he was bound up on both sides, suddenly he did a 180° turn, broke the halter and ran out onto the yard. I called out “Whoa Barley, stop!” and just 5-6 meters from the stable doors he stopped and shook his head. I went up to him and stroke his neck and gave him a hug. “Come on buddy, let’s go in again so that I can check up on you!”. Since he broke his halter on the way out, I just put my hand on is pole and he followed me back into the stable. A. came already running with a halter I could borrow, so I put it on Barley and went with him into the washroom again. He stopped once, I let the string get a slack, turned around and just calmly said “Barley, trust me, it’s going to be alright!” and then he just followed me into the washroom. Made my heart jump once more…oh, how I love my little shrimp.

The washroom incident_20141014

I had already the saddle and his leg protection on. When he bolted, he must have stepped against the stainless steel legs of the sink and it went through the leg protection. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened, if I didn’t had put on the leg protection.

Above is the picture taken the day after.

So, the summer turned definitely out different than I had planned for. I had planned on working out, building muscles, getting lots of hours riding together, training for our trainers, but somehow it was more about healing then anything else. As I mentioned before, even the vet would approve on the bubble wrap for Barley.

But I don’t want to whine, we had still wonderful moments and even though I wasn’t able to ride Barley as much, I wouldn’t miss out on a second we just hang together.

I tried to braid his mane for the first time while he was sleeping….well, I don’t really know what to say about it, except for …..hahaha!

Trying it the English way_20141005

We were hanging together in the indoor arena….

Enjoying the afternoon sun in the pasture…

We time_pasture_20140919

Went on evening walks together…

out and about reflex_20141026

Got some new addition to our gadget collection, like our new heart rate monitor…

Polar Equine V800_20141027

Took some rides bareback…

We_time_20141003

Some with saddle outside and in the best company…

Trail with A n T_20140920

Sometimes we went a little faster, too…

And other times we enjoyed more of each others company…

Barley in pasture_20141130.1.jpg

and I got to go shopping for some new pyjamas for the cold winter nights….

New pyjamas_20141122

And finally, we started training again, both English and Western. Hallelujah!! 😀

Last Friday we had an equine physical therapist in the stables and I got Barley a full body check. Turns out that he is still a little sore in his hip from the kick he received in June, but I was assured that it’s nothing to worry about. And then of course he was locked in his pole from when he broke the halter in the washroom, but that he fixed too. Although Barley did not seem to appreciate it as much as the massage and the laser therapy he got before.

What happens when a horsemad Ould Wagon moves from Cork to Provence with 2 horses, 2 dogs and a Long Suffering Husband? Why, she gets a third dog, discovers Natural Horsemanship à la Française and starts writing short stories, of course...